Bonhams Quail Lodge 2015 – Auction Report

Bonhams had little hope of following up last year’s blockbuster two-day Quail Lodge auction featuring the Maranello Rosso Collection and Ferrari 250 GTO s/n 3851GT. With 105 lots sold in 2014 for a total of $107.5 million (and $38,115,000 of it in a single car, the GTO) it was like trying to follow Bob Hope and Marilyn Monroe at a war zone USO show.

What Bonhams did, though, was almost as remarkable, clicking off a total of $44,285,600, 6.7% better than its Friday total in 2014 of $41,550,100, an increase of just over 42% from the 2013 Quail Lodge auction and 380% over 2012’s $11,663,070.

They did it with little fanfare and headline cars – other than the Ferrari 250 GT Interim Berlinetta s/n 1519GT sold for $8,525,000. Just nine cars sold on hammer bids of over $1 million and five between $500,000 and $1 million. Rather, the result was achieved with a succession of quality, and oftentimes highly unusual, cars like the Veritas Scorpion Cabriolet, the well-used and never-restored Miura s/n 3057 or the highly original BMW 3.0CSL s/n 2275024.

Here are the numbers:

Bonhams Quail Lodge

Cars Offered / Sold

Sale %

Sold < Low Est

Sold > High Est

Average Sale

Total Sales

Chg from prior year

2015

111 / 95

85.6%

55.3%

9.60%

$466,164

$44,285,600

6.7%

2014

105 / 95

90.5%

52.6%

14.7%

$437,369

$41,550,100

33%

2013

92 / 78

84.8%

51.3%

12.8%

$399,833

$31,186,950

167%

2012

96 / 55

57.3%

70.4%

3.7%

$212,056

$11,663,070

14.2%

2011

129 / 62

48.06%

59.7%

14.5%

$164,706

$10,211,765

-43.3%

2010

102 / 79

77.5%

55.1%

16.7%

$228,224

$18,029,690

37.03%

2009

103 / 60

58.3%

56.7%

13.3%

$219,292

$13,157,529

-36.73%

2008

77 / 43

55.8%

63.4%

9.8%

$483,647

$20,796,800

Bonhams Quail Lodge 2015 – Auction Report

Lot # 1 1972 Alfa Romeo Montreal Coupe, Body by Bertone; S/N 1426423; Engine # 15426378; Gold/Gold cloth; Estimate $100,000 – $140,000; Visually maintained, largely original, 3+ condition; Hammered Sold at $87,500 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $96,250. No Reserve. Campagnolo wheels, Pirelli tires, SPICA mechanical fuel injection, woodrim steering wheel, power windows, Philips stereo, air conditioning. – Registered in Italy until earlier this year and a two-owner car from new showing 80,738 km. The single repaint in the original color is spectacular other than a small scuff just near the right headlight. Rear hatch fit is a bit off, as are the doors. Tidy but original engine bay and underbody. Clean interior other than some dull switchgear and lightly worn upholstery. A mostly original and quite well kept Montreal in an unusual but very 1970s color combination. – For a rare Italian thoroughbred with attractive Bertone-penned bodywork and a powerful V-8 derived from Alfa’s endurance racers, this seems like a low price, but it is actually a very strong result for a sound but imperfect example. The consignor, who was selling a car at auction for the first time, was a bit nervous at getting assigned Lot Number 1, but in the end he should be very pleased with the transaction.

Lot # 2 1971 Maserati Ghibli SS Coupe, Body by Ghia; S/N AM115492110; Engine # AM115492110; Black/Brown leather; Estimate $220,000 – $260,000; Visually maintained, largely original, 3 condition; Hammered Sold at $220,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $242,000. With Reserve. Alloy wheels, Michelin XWX tires, cassette stereo. – Good older paint and chrome from a 1990 restoration in Europe. Dry, cracked original upholstery. Clean, original engine compartment and underbody. Usable but aged. – The Ghibli was a worthy alternative to a Daytona when new, with comparable performance and beautiful Ghia coachwork. That today’s collectors can buy four Ghiblis like this sound and apparently consistently maintained example for the price of a comparable Daytona is something of a bargain, even if it is representative of the current market.

Lot # 3 1989 Porsche 911 Carrera Speedster; S/N WP0EB0911KS173142; Engine # 64K05632; Guards Red/Black leather; Estimate $175,000 – $200,000; Unrestored original, 2- condition; Hammered Sold at $150,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $165,000. No Reserve. Fuchs wheels, BF Goodrich tires, snorkel brake light, VDO dash clock, Blaupunkt cassette stereo, power windows, climate control, Porsche CofA, clean CarFax, tool roll, books, jack. – A handful of chips on the nose but otherwise very good paint. Visibly but very lightly worn seats. Very tidy engine bay. Showing 20,146 miles, this is yet another ’89 Speedster with low miles and almost no wear coming to auction. – Just a little over 800 of these Speedsters were built and for years a lot of people didn’t take them very seriously, but thanks to a huge spike in value (even by the standards of the recent Porsche market), they have been frequent sights at auction over the past couple of years. Other recent Speedster sales have brought over $200,000, but this no reserve sale was a more modest result. Although this is several times what a mechanically identical Cabriolet from the same years would bring, the buyer should be pleased.

Lot # 6 1971 Ferrari 365 GTC/4 Coupe, Body by Pininfarina; S/N 14871; Engine # 14871; Silver/Red cloth, Black leather; Estimate $275,000 – $325,000; Visually maintained, largely original, 3+ condition; Hammered Sold at $295,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $324,500. With Reserve. Becker Mexico cassette, P/W, A/C, chrome Borranis, Michelin XWX tires. – Good but sometimes erratically masked repaint. Fresh interior in a custom pattern. Clean underbody with old undercoat. Good chrome. Clean underhood, with a new brake booster. A clean, attractive, visibly well maintained C/4. – Once upon a time C/4s were overlooked and affordable, despite having much the same drivetrain as a Daytona and more room inside for kids or friends. They are still affordable, but only in terms relative to Daytonas and Lussos. The custom seat upholstery in this example is somewhat startling, but probably very comfortable. The price is representative of today’s C/4 market.

Lot # 9 1973 Alfa Romeo 2000 Veloce Spider, Body by Pininfarina; S/N AR3041888; Giallo Pagoda/Black vinyl; Black top; Estimate $25,000 – $35,000; Visually maintained, largely original, 3+ condition; Hammered Sold at $29,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $31,900. No Reserve. SPICA fuel injection, steel wheels, Michelin tires, woodrim steering wheel, pushbutton radio, black vinyl boot cover. – Original engine bay. Very good paint. Dull bumpers. Dull original brightwork. Very good interior with some wear on the seats. Given a single repaint and boasting $7,000 in mechanical servicing two years ago, before which it had remained in the same family since new. Stated to be 18,369 miles from new, it’s a mostly original car that would make a great driver. – Sold here two years ago from the original family ownership for $24,750, there is a premium for low mileage and originality for a car in this kind of lightly worn condition, but the premium here was excessive. The seller here made back nearly the entire $7,000 in service bills, a rare feat. The buyer got a sound car with a benign history, but paid full retail for it.

Lot # 11 1949 Veritas Scorpion Cabriolet, Body by Spohn; S/N 5218; Engine # 328011601BMW; Metallic Dark Grey/Dark Grey leather; Black cloth top; Estimate -; Older restoration, 2- condition; Hammered Sold at $825,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $907,500. With Reserve. 1,988cc/100hp BMW 328 inline six-cylinder with three Solex carbs, 5-speed, ivory rim banjo spoke steering wheel, centerlock disc wheels, rear wheel skirts. – A very rare car bodied by Spohn with an imaginative envelope body dominated by exaggerated curved front fender vents that emulate the curve of the front fenders. DeDion rear axle, independent front suspension. A dramatic car with rollup windows and a padded top for touring comfort, believed to be one of only two in the U.S. Known history in the U.S. since about 1963, restored in the early 90’s, third in class at Pebble Beach in 1992. Very good paint, chrome, interior and top. Restored like new some time ago and still very good. – What’s it worth? What the bidders here paid for it, and a meaningful notch below a better known BMW 328 that isn’t nearly this distinctive visually. It is so rare and individual that even Bonhams couldn’t put a pre-sale estimate on it. A car that comes close to earning the often misapplied term ‘unique’.

Lot # 15 1972 BMW 3.0CSL Coupe, Body by Karmann; S/N 2275024; Engine # 2275024; Polaris Silver, Blue vinyl accent/Black vinyl, cloth; Estimate $190,000 – $230,000; Visually maintained, largely original, 3+ condition; Hammered Sold at $170,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $187,000. With Reserve. Becker Grand Prix multiband radio with Becker Olympia cassette, leather rim Alpina steering wheel, Simpson competition lap belts, sport seats, power windows, alloy wheels, Michelin XWX tires. – Decent repaint over old paint with a minor chip or two. Orderly unrestored engine compartment. Vacuum hose disconnected from something and plugged with a wad of rubber glove. Underbody has old undercoat with a little surface rust. Very clean trunk over and under the carpet. Flush panels, even gaps. Good but not fresh chrome. – This is a delightfully original CSL, even with the repaint, and it is impressively equipped. The plugged vacuum line is troubling and probably means a diaphragm in the sensor to which it ran is leaking, a fix that may be simple or may be expensive. It is unusual to find a CSL that hasn’t been Batmobiled, and this is an honest, rare car, but it brought a magnanimous price.

Lot # 18 1989 BMW M3 Coupe; S/N WBSAK0300K2198332; Red/Black; Estimate $60,000 – $75,000; Unrestored original, 2- condition; Hammered Sold at $87,500 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $96,250. With Reserve. BBS wheels, Toyo tires, sunroof, rear spoiler, power windows, tinted glass, air conditioning, factory cassette stereo. – Some light curb rash on the wheels. Spectacular original paint that looks two years old, not 26. Seats show light but noticeable signs of use. Otherwise the interior is fantastic. Not flawless, but close. Two-owner car represented as just 10,745 miles from new and nothing in its condition disputes that claim. – The E30 M3 has recently made the transition from “future classic” to full-blown collectible as shown by recent auction results and this car’s presence at Quail Lodge. By the standards of two years ago, this result would be stupefying. While still very strong and quite expensive, it isn’t quite so crazy in 2015.

About Rick Carey

One of the first people to report on the collector car market, Rick Carey’s market knowledge is unparalleled and he has one of the largest databases of auction transactions. Carey has a strong and recent background in racing, particularly road racing in International GT endurance competition and a particular interest and focus upon the collector car market including historical trends and economic analysis.